UBC Innocence Project at the Allard School of Law

What We Do

Innocence Projects are programs which provide post-conviction review in response to claims of wrongful conviction. They are usually based within law schools where students condct case reviews under the supervision of a Director or volunteer lawyers. This work is completed free of charge but students may receive course credit for their work.

The UBC Innocence Project at the Allard School of Law engaged the talents and enthusiasm of a selected group of law students to review claims of wrongful conviction in British Columbia. The goals of our Project are to:

investigate claims of wrongful conviction;

identify potential miscarriages of justice;

assist in securing the release of individuals who have been wrongly convicted;

educate law students about the causes of wrongful conviction;

educate law students about the proper roles of professionals in the criminal justice system; and

provide skills training for law students conducting post-conviction review work.

Through a multi-stage review process and under the direction of lawyers, law students take on the immense task of reviewing a case from the original investigation to the final appeal. If, at the end of this process, the Project believes that the case merits consideration by the Minister of Justice, students will assist outside counsel in preparing the appropriate application. Our hope is that the UBC Innocence Project at the Allard School of Law will become part of the international network that exposes, documents, and prevents wrongful convictions. The work we undertake is free of charge.

Disclaimer: Please Read

Participants in the UBC Innocence Project at the Allard School of Law cannot represent you or provide legal advice. Our role is to study an applicant's file and, in some cases, conduct further investigation to determine whether, in the opinion of the Project, the claim of wrongful conviction has enough merit to warrant an application to the Minister of Justice for post-conviction review.

If, in the Project’s opinion, the case has sufficient merit, the file will be turned over to a lawyer outside the Project who will represent the applicant with the continued assistance of a Project student.

While under the supervision of lawyers, the students conducting the file reviews are not yet qualified as lawyers and due to academic commitments can only work on files on a part-time basis. The material found on this web site is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should not act or fail to act on anything based on any of the material contained within this web site without first consulting a lawyer. Neither your use of the information on the UBC Innocence Project website, nor your application to the Project creates a lawyer-client relationship.

The UBC Innocence Project at the Allard School of Law is committed to maintaining the accuracy of the materials posted here, however we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any of the information posted to this web site. For your convenience and information, the UBC Innocence Project has provided this site with direct links to other web sites. The UBC Innocence Project does not necessarily endorse information found on any web site which is linked to or from this website. The content of this site, and other linked sites, is subject to change.

You may view and download the information on this site only for your own personal non-commercial use. Any other use, republication, or copying of this web site, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the UBC Innocence Project is prohibited.

The UBC Innocence Project cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any e-mail correspondence to or from the Project.

For further information or if you have any questions or comments on the UBC Innocence Project's website policy as outlined above, please contact us at (604) 827-3616.